


1 January

by Margot_Lescargot



Series: Burdens of Responsibility [12]
Category: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, brief postscript to previous work in series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Margot_Lescargot/pseuds/Margot_Lescargot
Summary: The next morning.
Relationships: Thomas Nightingale/Alexander Seawoll
Series: Burdens of Responsibility [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1522985
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1 January

**Author's Note:**

> A short scribble which follows directly on from (the second chapter of) the previous work in the series.  
> As the summary says: the following morning.

Thomas opened his eyes. The grey light was just beginning to filter through the crack in the curtains. He consulted his watch and looked over at Alex who was snoring softly and appeared not have moved in the slightest from where Thomas had placed him several hours earlier.

He slipped out of bed, putting on a dressing gown and slippers before stepping out of the door. The patchily-heated air of the corridor was cool against his bare legs and he shivered slightly as he made his way to the main staircase. As he descended, he saw that a small transformation had taken place in the atrium since he had left it the night before. The rout chairs had all been stacked neatly against the wall; the tables were cleaned and cleared and returned to their usual positions; even the cracked green leather armchairs had been put back in place under the central dome. Aside from the sound equipment belonging to Peter’s cousin, standing forlornly in a pile waiting to be collected, there was little other sign of what had taken place there a day earlier.

Not for the first time, Thomas silently blessed Molly, but he also felt a slight twinge of regret that there was no outward evidence remaining of what had been, for him, a momentous day. But as he glanced down at his hand on the stair rail, he caught sight of the ring, and smiled. The ceremony, and even the celebration of it, was of course just that, he thought, a rite, a ritual. 

He made for the kitchen and was unsurprised to find no sign of Molly or Foxglove, given their efforts overnight. He leaned against the kitchen table, staring into the middle distance and smiling faintly, while he waited for the kettle to boil. He caught himself, added a second cup to his own, and then carried them both back up to the second floor.

As he entered the bedroom – their bedroom, he reminded himself – he saw that Alex was awake and out of bed and, on hearing Thomas enter, stuck his head out of the bathroom.

‘Oh you’re there,’ he said. ‘I thought there might have been a call on the landline. My ‘phone’s still downstairs I think.’

‘No, nothing. All quiet. I only went to fetch tea,’ and he handed one of the cups to Alex.

Alex visibly relaxed. ‘Thank fuck for that. When I woke up and you weren’t here, I thought something might have come through. And that you’d have to go out on a shout. Or, even worse, that I would.’ 

‘I see,’ said Thomas with an amused expression as Alex climbed back into bed, taking the tea with him. ‘And how are we feeling?’

‘We are feeling,’ said Alex balefully, sitting up against the bedstead ‘like death warmed up. But, as long as I don’t have to move too far today, or do too much - and if I can wangle a massive fry-up out of Molly -’ he added meditatively,’ then I might just make it through the day. Thank you for the tea, by the way.’

‘Not at all,’ said Thomas. ‘We’re staying here for a while then are we?’

‘Well you can go for a quick run round the Square, if it takes your fancy; I've got a bastard behind the eyes which, frankly, prevents me from caring too much one way or the other. But _we_ certainly are.’ He paused and then added seriously, ‘Why? Did you have something planned?’

Thomas smiled. ‘No, nothing planned. I rather anticipated this eventuality – and you did give me fair warning after all.’ He slipped off his dressing gown as he spoke and got into the bed beside Alex.

‘Morning, dearest,’ he said and leaned across to kiss him on the cheek.

‘Don’t. I must look like absolute shit.’ 

‘You look as charming as ever. A little, um, weary around the eyes perhaps…’

‘Yeah, yeah. That’ll do, thank you.’ Alex put down the cup and took Thomas’ hand. 

‘So. We did it.’

‘We did.’

‘I keep looking at this,’ he held up his left hand, with its ring of intricate whorls and loops, almost identical - but not quite - to the one Thomas wore, ‘and feeling it, you know, and I can’t quite get used to it.’

‘I do know what you mean, but we will get used to it in no time, I imagine.’

They were silent, both staring down at their still-clasped hands.

‘All well downstairs?’ asked Alex after a moment.

‘Perfectly. Molly, and Foxglove we must assume, have been hard at work. The place is spotless.' He paused. 'You’d hardly know that anything out of the ordinary had happened down there yesterday.’

‘Ah,’ said Alex and drew Thomas to him. ‘But something out of the ordinary _did_ happen.’

‘Indeed it did,’ said Thomas and turned his head so that he could kiss him.

After the kiss had developed into a fairly prolonged series of kisses, during which Thomas somehow found himself sitting astride Alex, they broke apart.

‘I love you.’

‘I love you.’

Thomas looked thoughtful. ‘And yet there is something you owe me still.’

Alex was genuinely puzzled. ‘Is there? Like what?’

‘Well you see, last night – my wedding night, I hasten to add – you, husband mine, were in absolutely no fit state to…’

‘Oh really? I seem to recall that it was you who said at the time that we should wait until tomorrow. Today, I mean.'

‘And I seem to recall that you agreed.’

‘I did. I did do that.’ Alex conceded and shuffled down the bed taking Thomas with him. ‘Fine. But you’ll have to be gentle with me.’

‘Well I can try,’ said Thomas.


End file.
